True Grit & Wolverines
True Grit & Wolverines.
When asked whom they admire and respect the vast majority will quickly respond with the name of some famous athlete or movie star. My answer is a little different. A select few humans made the list, but after that my role models get a little hairier, scalier, or covered in feathers.
The wolverine (Gulo gulo) is near the top of my list. Why? Easy. These guys are survivors. They possess a variety of traits I respect including: determination, courage, intelligence and more grit than just about any creature on the planet.
Wolverines are members of the Mustelid family, same as otters, weasels and badgers. They can weigh up to 40 lbs (about the size of a border collie) and live in the frozen landscapes of the northern hemisphere ranging from North America to Europe and Asia.
They possess the perfect toolkit for surviving in these harsh environments: large paws that act like snowshoes in the deep snowpack, curved claws that allow them to climb trees and cliffs, dense fur coated in oils that repel water and keep them insulated, and some of the best cardio in the business – allowing them to travel over 40 miles in a single day. If that’s not enough to convert you to team wolverine they have also been observed facing down grizzly bears at kill sites.
These incredible animals are built to not only survive, but thrive in their environment. They are non-specific omnivores, which means they will eat just about anything they can fit into their mouths. Most of the time that means small mammals and carrion – which they can smell hibernating far beneath the snow. However, these tenacious beasts will also prey on animals much larger than themselves, such as deer and caribou, especially when they sense a weakness or injury.
Sadly, poaching, habitat fragmentation, deforestation and urbanization are starting to affect their population and we are seeing a downward trend in their numbers. Many organizations, including Conservation Northwest based out of Washington and the Wolverine Foundation in Idaho, are working to conserve the remaining populations. Click on the links to learn more about their conservation methods and how you can help. Hopefully with dedicated organizations like these performing great work we will see the comeback of this incredible species.
Let’s take the example of the wolverine and become the masters of our environments. No, that doesn’t mean you should sit out in the snow until you grow water-resistant hair. It means taking control of your personal environments, adapting yourselves to harsh work or home conditions and making the changes necessary to thrive. It means having the courage to stand up for yourself even when your foe has the demeanor of a grizzly bear. It means developing the true grit of wolverines, picking yourself up out of the dirt (or snow) after failure, and coming back even stronger and wiser than before.
If we can learn to master ourselves and our fears we can accomplish anything we set out to do. Discomfort is not your enemy, it is a tool that can be used for accelerated personal growth. Life for the wolverine isn’t easy and yours probably isn’t either, so let’s take a page from their book and become the boss of it.
LEARNED OF MIND. RESILIENT OF BODY. NOURISHED OF SOUL.
THE RUGGED SCHOLAR
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